look what i seen this weekend!
 

I went to my best opening weekend spot on saturday, and I didn't see any deer because this girl was there. She brought 2 of her cubs along. I seen them 100 yards away and they came straight to my tree and were eating acorns. This picture of the ma was taken at 15 yards away. My climber stand was 35 feet high in an oak. She looked up at me when she got this far, but she must now have known what i was so she kept eating. It was the first time I ever brought my camera in the woods, man was i happy i did. I was extremely nervous though because she had here young cubs there, and that is risky business. If you thought buck fever was bad, you should try bear fever!!

It was crazy enought getting to see them in the morning, and then they showed up again in the afternoon, right under my tree again, one of the cubs ate the apple core that i had thrown down there. I was taking a picure of the mom, and i felt some scratching on my tree, and looked down and one of the cubs was a foot off the ground in my tree!!!! My heart was pounding so hard, i though i was gonna bounce out of the tree. The cub went back down and no harm was done. (to me) The only weapon i had was my bow so i was pretty much SOL if something happened. I like bears, but not this close!

ANYONE GOT AN IDEA OF HOW BIG THIS GIRL IS? SHE WAS HUGE!

RE: look what i seen this weekend!
 

here are her cubs.

(i wish i could post bigger pictures, 30kb is small)

RE: look what i seen this weekend!
 

Cool pics!!!

RE: look what i seen this weekend!
 

That's cool! Sometime the best time I have hunting deer have nothing to do with deer. This definately would be one of those occasions.

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Thanks for sharing the pics. Sounds like a great experience. Good think you had the camera with you. ;)

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What a great hunt and a great experience......always a good idea to have a camera...that way no one can say, yeah right......nice shots.

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I probably would of had to go home and change my draws after she looked up at me. I can only imagine what you were thinking.

Great pictures!

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Nice pics.

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Nice pics! She is huge!

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Great pics!!!! But you are nuts if you go back up in that stand without a pistol for backup. I don't care what the law says, I always carry a pistol with me while bowhunting.

RE: look what i seen this weekend!
 

Great pics! it looks like she was keeping an eye on you as much as you were her! [&:] Thanks for sharing

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What an awesome experience! But I agree you are crazy if you go back to that stand without a pistol. There was a story in the paper here in Arkansas a few years ago about an old boy from up in the Ozarks that walked up on a mama bear with some cubs and she attacked him. All he could get to was a skinny sapling so he could not get very high without bending it over, so she was able to chew his heels off of his feet! The old dude had to wait there until she finally left and crawled to his truck and drove himself to the emergency room in Harrison--hour drive or more as I remember it....

RE: look what i seen this weekend!
 

Yeah, I was kind of helpless up there with nothing but a bow. I had made up my mind that this year i was going to go and buy a pistol because of all the bears up there, and because there are now wolves in the area [:@], but then i never got around to it and i figured i was worying to much and I wouldn't ever need it. Well, let me tell you, at 9:45 wednesday morning i was REALLY regretting that decision! For most of the time i felt helpless, but then I fond an escape route if needed. There was a tree about 8 feet in front of me that was only about 4 inches in diameter up by me so if she started climbing, i figured i could jump to that tree before she got all the way up by me. That tree would have been too small for her to climb, and too big for her to push over. (I think)

What type of pistols do you have? I didn't know if i should just buy a small one to serve strictly as self defense and won't be in the way, or if i should buy one that is big enough to hunt deer with right away.

RE: look what i seen this weekend!
 

I am right there with you! I would be changing my draws after that one! Where did you get those great pictures. State?

RE: look what i seen this weekend!
 

great pics, thats close enough for me to poop my pants. but exciting nun the less. its a good thing you were in a stand and not ground hunting like I prefer you would have been breakfest than lunch on there way back through in the afternoon. I'm glad there are no bears in the area I hunt in, they are farther north than where I 'am. my biggest predator I have to woory about is the coyotes chasing my deer and squirels running around before first light spooking the hibbies jibbies out of me.

RE: look what i seen this weekend!
 

only 35 feet up ? I'd have been loking for 60 !!! LOL

Great pics ! and I'm glad to hear everything worked out safely for you.

As for pistols, we're not legally permitted to have one when bowhunting in NC, and fortunately there aren't any predators (at least not the man-eating kind) where I hunt. If there were, I'd probably take a chance on getting caught and take my Kimber .45 CDP. Small enough to not be in the way and enough power for just about anything.

When gun season rolls around, my Ruger Super Redhawk is always on my hip.

RE: look what i seen this weekend!
 

Those are some pretty dang cool pics!! I'm glad you brought your camera too. lol

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That is awesome. I never carry a camera but it would have been a shame to have witnessed this and not got pics. It sounds like you had an awesome experience. I have never seen a bear in the wild. Congrats!

RE: look what i seen this weekend!
 

The coolest part about having my camera along was the video feature on it. The first time they came I forgot all about it, but in the afternoon I took a couple short video clips of the cubs at the base of my tree. Thank God for digital camera's!

Here is a little part of the story I didn't tell cuz i was in a hurry, the first time she came in, and she first noticed me (about a minute after that first picture I posted) I was taking a picture of her cubs and i moved my eyeballs back towards her because i knew that she had been looking at me periodically and I was startled to see her stand up on her back legs and look a little closer at me, she stood up for about 5 seconds and then went back down on al fours and continued to feed within 25 yards of me for another 5 minutes. I was watching her closely with the cubs to my right, and all of a sudden i heard one of the cubs start huffing and looked over and he ran about 15 feet up a tree 15 yards in front me! I was a little nervous, I turned my eyes back towards the sow, and she took another one of her short glances at me, and then continued eating and the cub went back down and they kept looking for acorns like nothing had happened. PHEW!

The scariest and most exciting parts were when she stood on her back legs and when the cub started climbing my tree, and when the cub climbed 15 feet up another tree, and i don't have a picture of any of those events because those moments are when the mood was VERY tense and my mind was on what the sow was going to do, and not on taking pictures.

Here is one more for you all.

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another for you all!

RE: look what i seen this weekend!
 

yeah i agree with kimber, a 45 is plenty big enough. i bring my glock 21 (.45) with me when i hunt way up north. i dont like to be surprised when doing my buisness... though you did get lucky and they walked up on you. that momma bear didnt seem like she too worried about you.

great pictures.

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I would have to say take a look at a 357 magnum, 7 inch barrel. A leagle and very efective hunting weapon where I'm at.

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cool pics! good thing they didn't get ant closer though

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Great pics. Supaarcher!! Way to close for my comfort though.

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Awesome pics! thanks for posting them :)

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You put a big smile on my face with those pics. I have to agree, I would have Shat my drawers. Thank god Virginia finally got it's head screwed on tight about concealed weapons when hunting. I have never worried about bear so much as two legged varmits that I might run into in the woods.

David

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Awesome pics!


I cant imagine myself feeling helpless with my bow in hand. I cant wait to draw my first bear tag.